Revelations
by ncis.is.the.best
Summary: In which Tony and Ziva have THAT conversation. TIVA.


Disclaimer: I have never, nor will I ever, own NCIS.

A/N: I haven't published anything for ages, I pretty much just wrote this today because I'm procrastinating instead of studying for exams. Anyway, I hope you like it. Rating for two bad words.

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She opened the door without checking to see who it was. He breezed straight past her and into the apartment, with a stale "hey".

"Please do come in," she muttered redundantly, closing the door slowly and turning to face him.

He was pacing, agitated.

"Something to drink?" she asked, already striding to the kitchen. He threw out a hand and gripped her wrist, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

His mouth opened to say something, but he abruptly changed his words when he saw her face. Instead of the angry, confused rant he had planned, he simply said: "Sure."

She raised her eyebrows and flicked her eyes down to where he was still holding her arm, and he let go slowly.

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

She returned with two glasses, and oh, thank god, it was alcoholic.

"I've had a revelation," he finally said.

She paused in her sip, utterly lost. "Elaborate."

He finished his drink in a single gulp and held the glass up. "Refill?"

If she was fazed by the ease with which he put back 100 proof sprits, she didn't show it. She just made her way back to the kitchen and returned with the whole bottle.

"Gracias."

"De nada."

There was silence again. She broke it.

"What kind of revelation?"

He shrugged a little. "We'll get to that."

"Okay..." she said, and refilled her own drink, before gesturing to the couch. He complied and they both sank into the two-seater.

"This whole unemployment thing really sucks," he finally said, staring through the bottom of his tumbler at the floor.

She snorted a little. "Hardly a revelation, Tony."

He shook his head. "That's not it."

She was getting frustrated. "Okay, then what-"

"I'm shocked by how much I don't really care, you know?" he sad, cutting her off. "I mean, I should be just shattered by this, but I just can't even care that much about it."

"What?" Shock stained her voice. "We're unemployed, Tony. Gibbs is god-knows-where. We could be facing any amount of charges. How can you possibly not care?"

"I care, Ziva, I just have my mind on other things."

"Other things..." she repeated slowly, as if she knew where this was headed. A simultaneous feeling of dread and anticipation ran through her. "Found a new miracle hair product?"

"That was a poor deflection, Ziva."

"I know."

That silence again.

He shook his head roughly and pressed his palm to his forehead, clenching his eyes shut.

"Friendship?"

Her stomach flipped. "So we're down this road again?"

"We fucking live on this road!" he exploded and she flinched. "Sorry," he said, falling back into the couch and taking another sip of his drink.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

He laughed out loud at that. "Anything. Say literally anything. Something that I can work with that isn't _f-f-f-friendship_."

"Don't mock me."

He looked at her, amused now. "You looked me in the eyes, pressed your hand to my chest, looked at me like..." His eyes slid closed. "And you said _that_."

"What else should I have said?" she said, throwing her hands up exasperatedly.

"Why should I have to write the script?"

"This isn't one of your dumbass movies, DiNozzo." Her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, thanks for that," he said. "If it were, the prince would have his princess by now."

Geez, that was forward, he realized too late.

Her eyes widened.

He stood to go. "Sorry, Ziva. Let's just… I need to go home."

"Now?" She looked worried, and he didn't like that he was the one doing that to her.

"You're giving me nothing here. I feel like I'm talking to a wall."

That snapped something in her. "You have spoken to me in riddles for eight years and now you expect me to flip some switch and be all forthcoming. Do you know me at all?"

"I don't expect you to change, I expect you to meet me halfway here! Is that really so much to ask?" he looks so expectant that it just broke her.

"No, it's not. Sorry."

"Stop apologizing, it's so freaking annoying."

"Sorry."

She smiled, and at that he did too.

"Another drink?" she offered and he noticed his empty glass.

"Please."

She refilled his glass and her own and then shuffled closer to him.

"You are important to me, Tony."

He clinked his glass with hers. "Ditto."

"But we're not partners anymore."

"No," he agreed.

"So I guess we have to figure out what we are outside of that."

"Indeed."

"Who's being vague now?" she said pointedly.

He did something completely unexpected then. He picked up her hand and held it in his own. And she leant forward and pressed her forehead to his.

"Hi," he said, faintly smiling.

"Hi," she returned.

He pulled his head from hers and inclined it to press a light kiss to her neck, then her temple, then her forehead, before dropping his head back against hers.

"I don't know about you, but I'd very much like some sort of arrangement in which we eat dinners together and share tales of our day and do domestic shit together like chores and whatever, and uh, not yell so much." He feigned thoughtfulness and tried to ignore the way his heart was flying around in his chest. "What do they call that?"

She was silent for so long he wondered if she was having some sort of absence seizure. Her face ran through a hundred different emotions before she finally smiled a little and looked down sheepishly.

"A r-r-r-relationship," she said, drawing out the word deliberately.

And he laughed so hard then that she thought he'd choke on his drink. And he thought: no one in the world has ever been as adorable as the woman in front of him.

She looked up again and met his eyes, smiling slyly. "So about that revelation?"

He chuckled slightly. "Oh yeah, that." His thumb grazed her palm slowly. "I, uh, I'm pretty sure absolutely head over heels in love with you."

Her chest felt like it would actually burst.

"Ditto."

And instead of lunging at her like he wanted to, he put a hand on her cheek and just held her face there, watching her, studying her, memorizing her. And when his eyes finally slid to her lips, she was the one that closed the gap.

When he pulled back suddenly and grinned wolfishly, she gave him a confused look.

"What-"

"Tonight's dinner is on Abby."

She looked even more confused. "Why?"

Tony laughed. "She bet me twenty bucks I wouldn't have the balls to do it. Best money I've ever made."

She just kissed him again.

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Thanks for reading! If you did, please leave me a pretty little review with your fave lines/ constructive criticism :) Thanks!


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